Process for producing raw rubber

Abstract: A process for producing raw rubber from a deproteinized natural rubber is disclosed, which comprises coagulating rubber particles in the deproteinized natural rubber latex by: (1) adding a nonionic surfactant having a cloud point of from 20 to 100°C and a molecular weight of 300 or more to the deproteinized natural rubber latex and heating the latex to a temperature not lower than the cloud point of the nonionic surfactant; or (2) adding a coagulation assistant selected from the group consisting of: (a) an anionic surfactant, (b) an amphoteric surfactant, (c) a nonionic surfactant, (d) a nonionic or amphoteric oligomer or polymer, and (e) an anionic oligomer or polymer, to the deproteinized natural rubber latex; and then recovering the coagulated rubber particles. According to the process of the present invention, raw rubber containing substantially no metal ion can be produced with a high efficiency.

Description: The present invention relates to a process for producing raw rubber. More particularly, the present invention relates to a process for producing raw rubber comprising coagulating rubber particles in a deproteinized natural rubber latex. Natural rubber has hitherto been used widely as industrial products, such as automobile tires, belts and pressure-sensitive adhesives, and household goods, such as gloves. These natural rubber articles are generally produced by coagulating the rubber content of a natural rubber latex to obtain raw rubber called crepe rubber or smoked sheet rubber, and further processing the raw rubber through steps of mastication, compounding of additives, molding, and vulcanization. It was recently reported that medical tools made of natural rubber, such as surgical gloves, various catheters, and analgesic masks, provoke labored respiration or anaphylactoid symptoms, such as vascular edema, nettle rash, detelectasis and cyanosis, in patients. Cases were also reported in which women with a history of allergy suffered a pain in the hands, nettle rash or vascular edema around the eyes when they used rubber gloves made of natural rubber. These symptoms seem to be attributed to the protein present in natural rubber. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S.A. has called on manufactures of natural rubber to reduce the protein content. It has therefore been demanded to remove protein from natural rubber. Natural rubber is obtained from Hevea trees as a latex containing a rubber content, water, protein, inorganic salts, and other impurities. The latex oozing out from the tapped trunk of a rubber plant is collected in a cup, gathered at a refining factory where it is coagulated to obtain raw rubber (crepe rubber or smoked sheet rubber) or concentrated by centrifugation to obtain a purified latex. The protein content in natural rubber has usually been expressed in terms of a nitrogen content (N %) determined by a Kjeldahl method multiplied by 6.3. The present inventors discovered that the proteins in raw rubber obtained from a latex can be confirmed by infrared absorption at 3280 cm -1 characteristic of polypeptide. The present inventors previously found that a deproteinized natural rubber latex showing no IR absorption at 3280 cm -1 can be obtained by a process comprising treating a natural rubber latex with a protease and a surfactant either simultaneously or successively and, after allowing the system to stand for a given period of time, recovering the rubber particles by centrifugation (see Japanese Patent Application Nos. 208754 to 208758/92 (corresponding to EP-A-0 584 597)). As a method for recovering the rubber particles from natural rubber latex, a method comprising adding an acid (e.g., formic acid and acetic acid) to a latex and a method comprising adding an inorganic salt (e.g., calcium chloride, aluminum sulfate and calcium nitrate) are generally known. For example, a latex is diluted to have a solids content of about 15 to 20 % by weight, and formic acid is subsequently added thereto in a concentration of from 0.1 to 1 % by weight to agglomerate the rubber particles, which is then separated, washed and dried to recover it. As compared with the general latex on the market, the above-mentioned deproteinized latex is very poor in the mechanical stability. However, in contrast, when it is attempted to recover the rubber content in the deproteinized latex by addition of an acid, the deproteinized latex causes only insufficient agglomeration to recover the rubber content. On the other hand, when the above-mentioned method wherein an inorganic salt is added to undergo agglomeration is employed, metal ions are unavoidably incorporated into the resulting solid rubber, which causes problems such as reductions in physical properties due to moisture absorption, blooming, retardation of vulcanization, and a reduction in resistance to deterioration on aging. GB-A-1 192 407 reveals the processing of natural rubber, especially Hevea latex, by adding to the latex an anionic surfactant having a specific anion in an amount sufficient to coagulate the latex. GB-A-309 245 discloses a process for the production of rubber from rubber latex which consists of coagulating the latex by means of acids or substances supplying acids in the presence of a substance reducing the surface tension of the latex, namely an organic substance possessing soap-like properties which, on treatment with acids, is not decomposed into products which are insoluble in water. A.D. Roberts, Natural Rubber Science and Technology, 1990, p. 102-103 discloses that natural latex may be stabilized by the addition of potassium, sodium or ammonium salts of fatty acids having from 8 to 18 carbon atoms. It is stated that the use of other anionic surfactants is much more limited. It is also stated that non-ionic surfactants of the ethylene oxide condensate type are not widely used in latex technology, but have limited applications. An object of the present invention is to provide a process for producing raw rubber from a deproteinized natural rubber latex with a high efficiency. Another object of the present invention is to provide a process for producing raw rubber from a deproteinized natural rubber latex without incorporating metallic ions into the raw rubber. As a result of extensive investigation, the present inventors have found that raw rubber containing no metal ions can be produced from a deproteinized natural rubber latex with high efficiency by adding a specific nonionic surfactant to the latex and then heating the resulting latex. Namely, the present invention provides a process for producing raw rubber which comprises coagulating rubber particles in a deproteinized natural rubber latex by adding a nonionic surfactant having a cloud point of from 20 to 100°C and a molecular weight of 300 or more to the deproteinized natural rubber latex and heating the latex to a temperature not lower than the cloud point of the nonionic surfactant and then recovering the coagulated rubber particles. The nonionic surfactant which can be used as a coagulating agent in the process of the present invention has a cloud point preferably of from 20 to 100°C and a molecular weight of 1,000 or more, more preferably a cloud point of from 20 to 80°C and a molecular weight of 1,000 or more. A nonionic surfactant having a cloud point of less than 20°C is difficult to handle at room temperature, while a nonionic surfactant having a cloud point exceeding 100°C is difficult to exhibit coagulating effect to the deproteinized natural rubber latex. On the other hand, a nonionic surfactant whose molecular weight is less than 300 is difficult to efficiently coagulate the rubber content. The molecular weight of the nonionic surfactant as referred herein is an average molecular weight. The average molecular weight of the copolymer and condensate nonionic surfactants can be determined, for example, by analysis with an aqueous GPC (liquid chromatography) using sodium polystyrenesulfonate as standard, while the average molecular weight of the nonionic surfactant other than the copolymer and the condensate can be determined, for example, by the measurement of its hydroxyl group value and calculation based on the molecular weight of KOH. Specific examples of the nonionic surfactant as the coagulating agent include polyoxyalkylene ethers, organopolysiloxane-polyoxyalkylene copolymers, polyoxyalkylene adducts of a formalin condensate of phenol or an alkylphenol, and polyoxyalkylene adducts of bisphenol A or bisphenol S. The nonionic surfactant is preferably used in an amount of from 0.01 to 10 % by weight, more preferably from 0.1 to 5 % by weight, based on the solids content of the deproteinized natural rubber latex. If the amount is less than 0.01 % by weight, the coagulating effect is insufficient. On the other hand, if the amount exceeds 10 % by weight, it is uneconomical and the content of the surfactant remaining in the resulting raw rubber increases. The nonionic surfactant which can be used in the present invention includes polyoxyalkylene esters, polyoxyalkylene ethers, polyoxyalkylene polyhydric alcohol esters, polyoxyalkylene sugar fatty acid esters, organopolysiloxane-polyoxyalkylene copolymers, polyoxyalkylene adducts of phenol- or alkylphenol-formalin condensates, and polyoxyalkylene adducts of bisphenol A or S. Examples of the polyoxyalkylene group in the above-illustrated nonionic surfactants include those having an alkylene group containing 2 to 4 carbon atoms. The number of added moles of ethylene oxide, for example, is from about 1 to about 300, preferably from about 5 to about 300. These nonionic surfactants may be used either individually or in combination of two or more thereof selected appropriately. The nonionic surfactant may be added to the latex immediately after deproteinizing process of the natural rubber latex or before the deproteinizing process of the natural rubber latex. In general, it is preferred that the nonionic surfactant is added to the latex after deproteinizing process of the natural rubber latex. In the coagulation step in the process of the present invention, a deproteinized natural rubber latex containing the nonionic surfactant as a coagulating agent is heated to a temperature not lower than the cloud point of the nonionic surfactant. The order of the addition of the coagulating agent (the nonionic surfactant) and the heating is not limited, and the latex may previously be heated before addition of the coagulating agent, or addition of the coagulating agent may be followed by heating. After coagulation, the coagulated rubber particles are separated from the mixture in a conventional manner, thoroughly washed with water and then dried. In this instance, it is preferable that the temperatures of the washing water and the rubber particles are controlled at or lower than the cloud point of the nonionic surfactant for efficiently removing the nonionic surfactant or other surfactants. As stated above, the raw rubber produced in the process of the present invention has extremely reduced contents of metal ions and surfactants as compared with the one recovered by using a metal salt as a coagulating agent. The present invention will now be illustrated in greater detail with reference to Examples. All the percents and ratios shown below are by weight unless otherwise noted. EXAMPLES 1 TO 6 AND COMPARATIVE EXAMPLES 1 AND 2 A high ammonia latex of natural rubber was treated with a protease (alkali protease) and a surfactant (a 60:40 mixture of sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate and polyoxyethylene (9 mol) lauryl ether) to prepare a deproteinized natural rubber latex showing no absorption of polypeptide at 3280 cm -1 in the IR spectrum. One part of a 10 % aqueous solution of the nonionic surfactant shown in Table 1 below was added to 100 parts (on a solid basis) of the resulting deproteinized natural rubber latex (solids content: 30 %) in a test tube, and the mixture was heated in a hot water bath at 90°C for 5 minutes. The state of coagulation after heating was evaluated with the naked eye and rated "good" (the rubber content was coagulated) or "bad" (the rubber content was not coagulated). The results obtained are shown in Table 1. For control, the same deproteinized natural rubber latex as used above but containing no coagulating agent (nonionic surfactant) was tested in the same manner. The result obtained is also shown in Table 1. Example No. Nonionic Surfactant Cloud Point (°C) Molecular Weight Coagulation Property 1 Nonylphenol EO (8.1) adduct 23 576 good 2 Nonylphenol EO(20) PO (14) adduct 40 1880 good 3 Bisphenol EO(75) PO(20) adduct 62 3530 good 4 Dimethylpolysiloxane EO(20) PO(8) copolymer 50 40000 good 5 Lauryl alcohol EO(20) adduct 88 1730 good 6 Oleyl alcohol EO(9) adduct 55 610 good Comparative Example 1 Nonylphenol EO(84) adduct exceeding 100 3920 bad Comparative Example 2 Decyl alcohol EO(2) adduct less than 20 247 bad Control None - - bad It is seen from Table 1 that a nonionic surfactant having a cloud point outside of the range of 20 to 100°C and a molecular weight of less than 300 produces no effect (Comparative Example 2) and neither does a nonionic surfactant having a molecular weight of 300 or more but a cloud point outside of the above range (Comparative example 1). To the contrary, in Examples 1 to 6 nonionic surfactants whose cloud point and molecular weight fall within the respective range according to the present invention exhibit satisfactory effect of coagulation. As is apparent from Table 1, raw rubber can be produced from a deproteinized natural rubber latex in the process of the present invention with a high efficiency. As described and demonstrated above, the process of the present invention can produce raw rubber from a deproteinized natural rubber latex with a high efficiency. Further, since the raw rubber produced in the process of the present invention substantially does not contain metallic ions, it does not cause problems such as reductions in physical properties due to moisture absorption, blooming, retardation of vulcanization, and a reduction in resistance to deterioration on aging.

Claims: A process for producing raw rubber which comprises coagulating rubber particles in a deproteinized natural rubber latex by adding a nonionic surfactant having a cloud point of from 20 to 100°C and a molecular weight of 300 or more to the deproteinized natural rubber latex and heating the latex to a temperature not lower than the cloud point of the nonionic surfactant and then recovering the coagulated rubber particles. The process of claim 1, wherein said nonionic surfactant having a cloud point of from 20 to 100°C and a molecular weight of 300 or more is added in an amount of from 0.01 to 10 % by weight based on the solids content of the deproteinized natural rubber latex. Use of a nonionic surfactant having a cloud point of from 20 to 100°C and a molecular weight of 300 or more as a coagulating agent for a deproteinized natural rubber latex.

Inventors: HAYASHI MASAHARU, HIOKI YUICHI, ICHIKAWA NAOYA, SAKAKI TOSHIAKI, TANAKA YASUYUKI, HAYASHI, MASAHARU, HIOKI, YUICHI, ICHIKAWA, NAOYA, SAKAKI, TOSHIAKI, TANAKA, YASUYUKI
Applicants: KAO CORP, SUMITOMO RUBBER IND, KAO CORPORATION, SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES LIMITED
Application year: 1994
Main classification: C08C1
IPC codes: C08C1